GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When we first started our blog in this tiny corner of the internet, a common practice was to post a links blog almost every morning.
That was the only way to keep up with the vast coverage before the non-paywall era.
Seven daily newspapers (remember those?) had UF beat writers in town (Gainesville Sun, Miami Herald, Palm Beach Post, Tampa Bay Times, Florida Today, Orlando Sentinel and Florida Times-Union), plus a dedicated ESPN.com writer and several Gators-centric subscription websites covered the program consistently.
Only the Gainesville Sun and Orlando Sentinel continue to have local reporters on the scene, while coverage on subscription websites has ebbed and flowed. Some have dried up. Others have bloomed.
Still, Florida’s fan base continues to be well-served, with coverage available in more places than ever before, whether online, in print, on social media, from in-house sources, or on the various video platforms. In that spirit – and since we haven’t done this in a while – a look at recent items that made the rounds in Gator Nation since no one sees everything in this 24/7 media world that cranks around the clock.
Has there ever been a college football awards ceremony that personifies its namesake better than Monday night at the Steve Spurrier First-Year Coach of the Year banquet? The winner, of course, was former UF head coach Dan Mullen, but Miami’s Mario Cristobal and Georgia’s Kirby Smart stole the show with their back-and-forth banter. Heck, even 93-year-old former Gators coach Doug Dickey got a jab in – at the HBC.
And how about this from former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer, who won a Legends Coach Award: “I have to admit that I never thought 25 or 30 years later, I’d be receiving a meaningful award from Steve Spurrier,” Fulmer told the crowd. “I keep waiting for somebody to jump out and say, ‘You’ve been punked.’ “
Spurrier was in his Ben Hill Griffin Stadium office on Wednesday afternoon, still having fun telling stories from the night. The master quipster felt right at home as the quips flew back and forth. If you missed it, a couple of videos from X:
Be sure to watch this. It will make your night.
Kirby was throwing 95 mph with the jokes, too.
Kirby Smart roasts Miami & Florida on stage at the Spurrier Awards https://t.co/3WmGAalpxb via @YouTube
— Jeff Sentell (@jeffsentell) February 24, 2026
*****
Also for the record Phillip Fulmer, Dan Mullen and even Doug Dickey had some zingers at the Spurrier Awards as well. pic.twitter.com/7ADkxkJRMg
— Cody Chaffins (@CodyChaffins) February 24, 2026
*****
The Gators hold their first practice of spring camp on Tuesday morning, and head coach Jon Sumrall has been busy wrapping up his version of talking season in the two-plus months he has been UF’s head coach. Sumrall had a tasty quote in an interview with On3/Rivals.com …
NEW: Jon Sumrall breaks down how he plans to rebuild Florida with @ChadSimmons_🐊
“If you are juiceless, then you are useless.”
Read: https://t.co/yVDwB0yJW0 pic.twitter.com/heEzm6rpqt
— Rivals (@Rivals) February 27, 2026
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Sumrall has spoken repeatedly about his conversation with former Gators coach Urban Meyer prior to taking the Florida job. He was on Meyer’s “Triple Option” podcast this week to discuss that and more, entering his first spring camp with the Gators …
Jon Sumrall stays ready in case he needs to square up. 😂 🐊 #cfb #collegefootball #floridagators #sec @GatorsFB pic.twitter.com/bAZjBYfdYQ
— The Triple Option (@3xOptionShow) February 26, 2026
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Check out FloridaGators.com for coverage from the start of spring camp next week. For now, a few links for old time’s sake that are not behind a paywall:
–Sumrall was at the Spurrier event on Monday night, and USA Today columnist Matt Hayes writes that it could be a good thing for the Gators down the road.
–Mullen offered some thoughts on Sumrall in a story by Kevin Brockway of the Gainesville Sun.
–Rusty Whitt, Florida’s director of football performance and a member of Sumrall’s staff at Troy and Tulane, sat down recently for an in-depth Q&A with Edgar Thompson of the Orlando Sentinel.
—George Gumbs Jr. is in Indianapolis with several teammates for the NFL Combine, and Nick Schultz of On3.com reports on how Gumbs stacked up with other defensive ends in the 40-yard dash.
–New Gators tight ends coach Evan McKissack breaks down his position group in a story from Zach Goodall of Swamp247.com.